Review of the players 2007/08

Goalkeepers

Davis – 6.5 - Great shot stopper, but the performances of Richard Wright have shown that there is more to goalkeeping that just that.  Whoever the goalkeeping coach is these days, he has to work hard this summer to improve other parts of his game.
Would sell if we could re-coup our 1m lay out, but can’t see it somehow.

Bialkowski – n/a - Like Davis has showed in the past to be a great shop stopper, but had 2 terrible performances this year, albeit behind quite awful defences.
Maybe a period out on loan would do him more good, than the odd reserve team appearance, to see if he is going to make it or not.

Poke – n/a Reserving judgement. Was injured in the warm up at Hull, where he conceded 5.

Wright – 9 – Was superb for in my opinion.  The defence always seemed more assured with him in the side. Great saves and decision making, pity it’s unlikely we can afford his wages.
  
Defenders

Ostlund – 5 – Big hearted Swede, always gives his all, but defensive part of his game, really lets him down. This season has been disrupted by injuries, could do with a fresh start elsewhere in my view.

Wright – 6 – a real mixed bag of performances this year. Earlier in the year was truly dreadful, but credit to him, he came back and more recently has done a job wherever he has been asked to play.  This season he has been responsible for both saving tackles as well as complete rickets. Depending on wage demands, maybe worth another season as a useful squad player.

Thomas – 6 -  Never worth the £1.2m we paid for him in a deal done out of desperation. He’s strong and determined, but lacks any real football brain. (as shown up by the performances of the over 35’s we had in on loan) .  Would be happy to recoup our money on him, but again, I just can’t see it.

Powell – 4 – Out of contract and surely must be released. Injury prone and in my opinion just not good enough. Like Thomas, strong and determined but again no football brain.  

Davies – 9 – My Player of the season.  Young, dedicated, gets stuck in, and knows when to pass and when to just clear.  Future captain. A must keep.

Lundekvam – n/a – Great servant to the club – Enjoy your retirement.

Makin – n/a – Another one retiring through injury.

Loan Defenders:

Daily – 7 - Experience showed, and did a good job during his loan period.

Vignall – 7 – Like a lot of players, had a mixed season. Looked off the pace to begin with, but settled in to produce some good attacking performances. Even chipped in with the odd goal.  Like to keep, if we can agree on wages.

Perry – 7 - Like Daily, his experience helps him, to read the game well and make up for lack of pace.  Could be worth a 12 month contract to play along side the energetic Davies.

Lucketti – 7 – As with Daily and Perry, experience makes up for lack of pace at his age.  Not afraid to get stuck in and had a great tussle with the man mountain in the Bristol city game. Would like to keep either him or Perry for next year.
 
Bennet – 6.5 – woeful first display, but came back strongly once he settled in and had a proper central defender to play with.

Midfield

Viafara – 6 – I’m quite a fan of John. I know he can’t pass and can’t shoot, and is clumsy as hell, but he can tackle, and is possibly the only midfield player we have who can.  He is also a strong runner with the ball.  Should in my opinion play a more central role.  But not really been the same since the rumoured transfer deadline day move collapsed.  Would not be surprised to see him move on.

Dyer – 6 – Great pace, but not always any end product. Started season well, but injury and the nightclub incident have effected him.  Out of contract, and cant see him being here next year.

Hammill – 5 – So much early season promise.  Undoubted talent IMO, but often came on late in games and tried too hard to do something special, when simple crosses were needed. Will return to Liverpool, and probably go out on loan elsewhere next season.

Idiakez – 5 -  never really saw the best of him. Out of contract so certainly time to move on or call it a day.  Not able to last the pace, cant/wont tackle, and with only glimpses of the creativity spark he used to have, not much too offer.

Safri – 6.5 – Some may think that a little harsh, I know he has a few fans. But for me, while he is neat and tidy, he rarely creates much, and is not a great ball winner either.
His corners and free kicks rarely caused any great problems and he is prone to getting wound up easily.  Wouldn’t be sad to see him move on, but also not unhappy to see him stay and maybe with a better central midfielder partner, may show more to his game.

Licka – 6.5 – never lets the side down, gives his all, but as with Safri I just wonder if that’s enough.  In my opinion too light weight and easily knocked off the ball, although he is a strong runner, but not any great end product.  I believe he’s out of contract so I don’t expect him to be here next year. 

Euell – 6 – What to say!!. Was truly, truly awful when he first arrived, and was often lucky to merit a 4, leading many to wonder if he had a “must play” clause in his contract.  But in fairness has put in a lot of work in recent weeks and fought for the cause.   But as I understand he’s one of our higher earners, would be probably good to see him more on.

Skacel – 5.5 – never really lived up to the hype following his move from Hearts. Sometimes very impressive, in particular, his last game before going off to Germany. But probably best for all parties if that move was made permanent and some much needed money comes into the club.
 
Surman – 7 – maybe a little on the generous side, but reflects the fact he is the only midfielder I’d be bothered about keeping. Started well but fell away badly mid season with transfer talk and England u-21 call ups. But Great performances when filling in at left back, and that could yet be his position.  Was truly superb on the last day of the season. The concern is his talent will be sold to finance the club.    

Forwards

John – 8 – Gets his marks for his goals and in particular his goals in the last game of the season that kept us up.  Can also hold the ball up well, when in the mood. But generally is a real hit or miss player. Can be great when scoring freely as he did against Sheffield United (2), Hull (3) and Cardiff (2), but also guilty of missing some real sitters and disappearing from games at times. 

Saganowski – 6 – What happened to his brother who played for us last season?  Marek has been a shadow of that player, but in fairness has not been given the opportunities some other players have at the club.    He still works his socks off, which is why he gets a 6, but his shooting boots have deserted him.  Hoping for a return to form next season.

Wright-Phillips – 4 – has to be best for all concerned if he moves on.   Given chance after chance, (unlike Saganowski and Rasiak)  but never took them.  Has pace and can be tricky, but has no awareness, and runs around in circles. The night club affair was the last straw, has to move on.

Rasiak – 7 – Scored 8 goals from 14 starts. I’m sure he would have eclipsed John’s goal tally had he been given the chance.  Fell out with Burley and consigned to the bench.  Not sure what the deal with Bolton is, but still believe him to be the best natural goal scorer at the club.

McGoldrick – 6 – Jury is still out. But just as well give him a chance as BWP.

Lallana – 7 – Just for that goal. Obvious talent, but maybe too lightweight for a championship midfield battle.    Hopefully next season he will get more chances.

Pericard –  n/a - not sure why we bothered with that one!

Next season

With the boardroom circus continuing, we have no idea if we are in for a clear out just to raise money for the club or if any money will be made available (from sale of players) to bring in new faces.
There has to be a change in the playing personnel, as this current squad isn’t good enough, and despite our celebrations on the last day of the season we really should never have been in that situation in the first place.

Priorities for me would be a new right back who can get forward, and an experienced central defender to play along side Andrew Davies. 

Also a central midfielder who can tackle would be useful, along with a wide midfielder who can go past defenders and actually cross the ball.

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